Kofu Castle

Kōfu Castle (甲府城), also known as Maizuru Castle (舞鶴城), is a hirayama-style castle located in Kōfu City, Yamanashi Prefecture. The castle site is designated as a National Historic Site and is one of the most important historical landmarks in central Kōfu, forming the historical core of the city alongside the Tsutsujigasaki Residence of the Takeda clan.

Background and Historical Development

Kōfu Castle was constructed on a small hill in the northern part of the Kōfu Basin—a strategic and political high point since ancient times. During the rule of the Takeda clan, Kōfu developed into a castle town centered around the Tsutsujigasaki Residence and became the political hub of Kai Province. After the fall of the Takeda clan, the region came under the control of the Tokugawa and Toyotomi factions, and Kōfu Castle was built as a new fortress, further organizing the castle town and transforming Kōfu into a large-scale political and military base.

Under Toyotomi rule, Kōfu Castle held significant strategic value in restraining Tokugawa Ieyasu. In the Edo period, the castle became a shinpan domain (a domain ruled by Tokugawa relatives) and was one of the most important strongholds closest to the shogunate. Although the castle featured a tenshudai (main keep base), it remains uncertain whether a tenshu (castle tower) was ever actually constructed.

Over time, Kōfu Castle underwent multiple phases of governance and played a crucial role as a center of regional administration and military affairs, including during the bakufu direct rule and the Kōfu Kinban system in the Edo era.

Meiji Era Onward and Present State

In 1873, the Meiji government issued the Castle Abolition Order, designating Kōfu Castle as obsolete. Most of its buildings were dismantled to promote industrial development, and the inner moat was filled. The castle grounds were repurposed for public and administrative use.

With the opening of the JR Chūō Main Line, the site was further divided, as Kōfu Station was constructed on the former Shimizukuruwamaru area of the castle. However, postwar excavations and preservation efforts have gradually restored its historical landscape. Today, remnants of the main bailey (honmaru), tenshukuruwa, tenshudai, Inari kuruwa, and Kaji kuruwa as well as some stone walls and moats have been preserved and opened to the public as a park and sightseeing destination.

Among the artifacts unearthed, gilded shachihoko tiles and decorative roof tiles are especially notable and are designated cultural properties of Yamanashi Prefecture.